The 2019 Perennial Ryegrass Varieties List, along with the Pasture Profit Index (PPI), was published recently and Abergain (tetraploid) tops the list with a PPI score of €214/ha, substantially ahead of the remaining varieties and even Aberclyde which falls into second place with a score of €205/ha.

In all, 35 varieties made the cut and while Abergain reads at €214/ha on the PPI, the bottom of the table stretches as far as €66/ha.

Abergain’s total yield was listed as 10.57t DM/ha. Its first-cut silage yield was 4.98t DM/ha, while its second-cut silage was 4.09t DM/ha. The variety which topped the PPI scored 5.7 on ground cover.

Abermagic is the highest rating diploid variety on the list with a PPI score of 197.

Seasonal growth

Moira rated highest for spring growth at 118, while Abergreen scored 52 for summer growth and Abermagic rated 70 for autumn growth.

Abergreen had the highest total yield on the list at 11.27t DM/ha. Aberwolf, a diploid, scored highest on ground cover with a score of 7.0.

New variety Oakpark had a total dry matter yield of 10.28t DM/ha and scored a 6.8 for ground cover.

Heading date

The earliest heading date on the list is May 22 – Fintona (tetraploid), while the latest is June 9 – Aberchoice (diploid).

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